Section III: Toward "Personal" Computing Flashcards
What was the most prominent example of an early interactive computer?
Project Whirlwind
Who was put in charge of Project Whirlwind?
Jay Forrester
The U.S. Air Force contracted which university to work on a flight sim?
MIT, the Servomechanisms Laboratory
What did Forrester do to make the computer for Project Whirlwind faster?
he made it electronic
The U.S. Air Force was going to cut funding for Project Whirlwind, but what saved them?
the Cold War
When did Project Whirlwind become operational?
1951
How was the Project Whirlwind computer different from most computers at that time?
it was faster, used a CRT and a printer, and was able to display simple graphics
After developing Project Whirlwind, MIT transferred the technology to which computer company?
IBM
What did IBM market the Whirlwind computer as?
AN/FSQ-7
Many AN/FSQ-7 computers will built, forming which air defense system?
SAGE
Which decade was the SAGE system decommissioned?
the 1980s
IBM used its experience with the SAGE system to create which other system?
SABRE
SABRE was made for which airline?
American Airlines
Which year was SABRE fully operational?
1964
What was SABRE?
an interactive flight reservation system
By which decade were all major airlines using interactive flight reservation systems?
the 1970s
Who made timesharing?
John McCarthy
Who lead CTSS?
Fernando Corbato
When was CTSS made?
1963
At its peak, how many simultaneous users could CTSS support?
30
What did CTSS use to input things into the computer?
typing on teletypes
Teletypes pioneered the use of which 2 keyboard keys?
Escape and Control keys
When was CTSS able to support electronic mail?
1965
When was CTSS decommissioned?
1973
Where was BASIC invented?
Dartmouth
What was BASIC?
a beginner’s programming language designed to help students learn how to code
What did Dartmouth’s BASIC timesharing system use for input?
teletypes
What computer was the BASIC timesharing system built around?
a General Electric 235 computers
What was the successor of CTSS?
Multics
Who made the second system effect?
Fred Brooks
What is the second system effect?
the idea that most people tend to over-design the second system
How many total users could Multics support?
25
When did Bell Labs leave the Multics project?
1969
In 1970, General Electric sold its computer division to which other computer company?
Honeywell
When was Multics decommissioned?
2000
Who founded DEC?
Kenneth Olsen
When did Olsen found DEC?
1957
What was DEC’s first computer?
the PDP-1
How much did the PDP-1 cost?
125k
What did the PDP-1 use for memory?
transistors and core memory
How was DEC able to offer the PDP-1 for so cheap?
they used the spartan business model
What was the spartan business model?
where you don’t spend extra money on unnecessary things to cut down on costs
How much money did a PDP-8 cost?
18k
When was the PDP-8 created?
1965
What was the size of the PDP-8?
the size of a fridge
What were the PDP series known as?
minicomputers
How many total PDP-8 models were sold?
30,000
When was the PDP-11 made?
1970
The PDP-11 was the “___________” minicomputer?
quintessential
How many PDP-11s were sold?
170,000
What was the PDP-11’s operating system?
RSTS-11
RSTS-11 included a modified version of which programming language?
BASIC
Which programming language was made on a PDP-11?
the C programming language
When was the C programming language created?
1972
Who made the UNIX operating system?
2 people
Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie
What computer did Thompson and Ritchie use to get the UNIX started?
a PDP-7
Dennis and Ritchie convinced management to get them which computer to continue the UNIX on?
a PDP-11
What language was UNIX initially written in?
assembly language
The Unix was rewritten but this time it used which programming language?
C programming language
Who invented the C programming language?
Ritchie
Why did AT&T have trouble selling the Unix?
because it was a government-regulated monopoly and couldn’t sell items not related to telephony
How did AT&T sell Unix?
they sold copies of Unix to universities for a low cost
Who did networking begin with?
J. C. R. Licklider